Naming the All Blacks

According to a local North Cantebury Rugby fanatic, the name All Blacks did not at all originate from the colours donned by the national team. In fact the true source of the name dates back to the beginnings of the 1900's when New Zealand sent their national rugby side on tour of the British Isles. In that era they were known quite differently as "The Invincibles" and it seems with good reason. However in a game that has nowadays gone the full circle in terms of styles and schools of thought, they did at that time cause quite a sensation with the highly unusual and unorthodox characteristic of a fast and agile team made up entirely of players who all loved to run with the ball like a back, thus earring them the nickname - The ALL BACKS. As you can guess it was only a matter of time before the spelling evolved into what they now use today.